Our time in Alpena

For the past few summers, we try to spend a few days near Alpena, in a cottage, by a lake, with extended family.  It's quaint and rustic and leisurely.  There are campfires and walks and sandcastles.  There are potlucks and music mornings and crafts.  There is swimming and paddle boating and swinging.  There are sunrises and sunsets.There are books and conversations and photos.  This year there was even a baby shower and a butterfly lesson and a trip to the Dinosaur Gardens.

Here's a look at our time this year:

 

We look forward to our Alpena time next year!

I think it's called an Ikea Hack.

She needed a new bed.  And I'm always up for a project.  So ...

Music Man brought this home a few days ago.

A sweet little Ikea loft bed,

in need of a little personalization, in the form of scrapbook paper, a string of lights, and some scrap fabric.

Nicely hacked.

There's a first for everything.

Call us crazy, but we were so dedicated to our bedtimes that just this year did we take our children to a local fireworks display.  Until this summer, the only fireworks they had experienced were on screen before Disney movies, or the box of sparklers that they twirled around last year.

We packed up the picnic blanket, lots of snacks, and children's charades, and off we went.

Throughout the evening, we felt the need to explain the many facets of this American tradition, including why the fireworks are seen before they are heard, and at one point the Music Man even hummed the Star-Spangled Banner.  Kids are sometimes like little foreigners, aren't they?

We adults thought the display was quite nice, but look at the kids' faces!

There's definitely a red glare here, as bombs were bursting in the air.

Happy birthday, country of mine.

Our big city adventure - Chicago

We've been wanting to take the kids to Chicago for a while now.  The lake, the food, the walking, the friends, the place where Music Man and I met, the museums, the El train, the parks.  We wanted to share this great city with them.

With our recent city tour of our state's capital, and last year's city bus fun, and our Detroit excursions, we were confident we were ready for a big city adventure in Chicago.

A word web can make anything seem manageable. We wrote down events, people, feelings that we might encounter on our trip.

And it couldn't have been better!

We took the Amtrak train to Chicago's Union Station.

A dear friend had agreed to host us, so from there we took the subway up to his neighborhood.

After a hearty snack, we walked to the lake and ran off some energy.

Music Man joined us from his class in Iowa, and the rest of the weekend held a mini college reunion at the Lincoln Park Zoo;

not one, but two trips to Crown Fountain and the Bean in Millennium Park;

a visit to the Art Institute;

a backyard BBQ with old friends;

several trips on city buses;

and lots and lots of walking.

The city left its mark on us, and we left a mark on the city.